UTAR Alumni

JUNE 2013

The End? Too Early!

Monica Hii Hung Ling

Bachelor of science (Hons) Biotechnology

Class of March 2011

I am the youngest child at home. I have a brother and a sister. They completed their studies at the secondary level without having the opportunity to further their tertiary studies or to experience university life. I thought I would be just like them. However, I was surprised with my SPM result and it was something that I did not expect. I told myself that I would not put an end to my studies and I was very determined about it. It was too early to write 'The End' to my study life.

Thanks to my mum's encouragement and support, I finally decided to join UTAR in Petaling Jaya to continue my tertiary studies. I managed to secure 50% scholarship for my foundation studies.

I passed my foundation studies and continued with my 3 years degree programme in Bachelor of Science (Hons) Biotechnology in UTAR Perak Campus in Kampar. I felt so blessed that I managed to graduate from my studies at UTAR even with only a CGPA of 2.79 - a second class lower degree.

Looking back, I like the Perak Campus in Kampar which gave me rewarding university life experiences. I could meet up with people from different places and I could also make many new friends, not only with my classmates but also those members from the many clubs and societies in campus. Not only that, I also made a lot of friends when I went for my church service and also during my soft skills training.

After my university years in UTAR, I realized that I have developed into a more confident person. I was once an autistic child but now I could communicate confidently with just anyone.

I would like to give credit to my academic advisor Dr. Han Kwai Hin who encouraged me to enroll in a local university instead of going overseas for my postgraduate studies. With his advice, I decided that it was too early to end my study life.

I felt so blessed when I was accepted into UPM Bintulu Campus on January 2011, as the youngest Master student in the Microbial Biotechnology programme. I also came to realize that there was a difference between private and public university in terms of study environment and that has enriched my experience further.

Currently, I had just finished my first semester with CGPA 3.5 and I would like to extend my appreciation to my current supervisor Dr. Patricia King Jie Hung, co-supervisor Dr. Ong Kian Huat and Associate Prof. Dr. Joseph Bong Choon Fah as they have provided me with the necessary guidance all this while. Dr. Patricia's constant remark - you are just like a flower, easily dry out under the sun, you need to be protected? has also since become my motivational statement to be stronger and independent. I have learned that I would never run away or keep quiet whenever I encountered any problem.

It is my fervent wish to achieve as high level of education as possible in my life. We should not stop learning throughout our lifetime.

Finally, I wish to extend my gratitude to UTAR and UPM for the many rewarding experiences.

Thanks to my family support!